Claim Raven explanation
What this means
When Higher-Level Review returns a claim or the Board remands it, the original agency must address the identified duty-to-assist errors and issue a new decision. This section calls for expeditious handling.
A return or remand is not itself an award. It identifies work that must be completed before another decision, such as obtaining records or correcting an examination problem. The eventual result depends on the developed record.
How this helps your claim
Use the return or remand instructions as a checklist against the subsequent development. If an instructed examination or records request is missing, identify that specific step when reviewing the new decision.
What to check in your records
Use your decision, examination reports, and relevant records to check the following points.
- Save the complete return or remand instructions.
- Compare new records requests and examinations with each identified error.
- Review the new decision notice and the effective-date treatment of the continuously pursued issue.
Use the return or remand as a work list
A return or remand identifies development or correction needed before another decision. Read each instruction and compare it with the later records requests, examination or opinion. The useful question is whether the identified issue was actually addressed.
Keep the return document with the new decision so the sequence remains clear. A newly completed examination may still need to be read for the particular question it was supposed to answer. The existence of another report does not alone establish either full compliance or a favorable result.
Does a remand mean my claim has been approved?
No. It means further work is required under the applicable process. That work can produce additional evidence and another decision, but the outcome remains to be determined. Expeditious handling is also not a promise of a specific completion date for an individual matter.
Official regulatory text
38 CFR § 3.2502
eCFR snapshot: September 3, 2026. Layout and spacing are adapted for reading. The full section and its tables are included below.
§ 3.2502 Return by higher-level adjudicator or remand by the Board of Veterans' Appeals.
Upon receipt of a returned claim from a higher-level adjudicator or remand by the Board of Veterans' Appeals, the agency of original jurisdiction will expeditiously readjudicate the claim in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 5109B. The agency of original jurisdiction retains jurisdiction of the claim. In readjudicating the claim, the agency of original jurisidction will correct all identified duty to assist errors, complete a new decision and issue notice to the claimant and or his or her legal representative in accordance with 3.103(f). The effective date of any evaluation and award of pension, compensation or dependency and indemnity compensation will be determined in accordance with the date of receipt of the initial claim as prescribed under § 3.2500(g).
[84 FR 172, Jan. 18, 2019]
Related references
- 38 CFR § 3.2500: VA Decision Review Options and Continuous Pursuit
- 38 USC § 5109B: Expedited Handling After a Return or Remand
- 38 CFR § 4.1: What a VA disability rating measures
- 38 CFR § 3.159: VA duty to assist: records and examinations
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